Stairwell re-entry, crossover floors and fire alarm door releases in Alberta
For engineers, code consultants, architects, general contractors and building managers planning locks and card readers on exit stair doors.
The quick answer
Under the Alberta Building Code, a person in an exit stair must never be more than two storeys, up or down, from a door that lets them back onto a floor, and from that floor they must be able to reach another exit. Floors that stay open for this are often called crossover floors. The other stair doors can be locked against re-entry, with signs and firefighter access. Electromagnetic locks are allowed on crossover doors if they release on the fire alarm, on power loss and from a fire alarm pull station beside the door on the stair side. We do the access control side, the locks, readers and power, and connect it to the fire alarm with the fire alarm contractor.
Words you’ll see
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Exit stair | A protected stairwell that people use to leave the building in an emergency. |
| Re-entry door | A door from the exit stair back onto a floor. People leaving the stair on the way out must always be able to open it from the floor side. |
| Crossover floor | A floor whose stair door stays unlocked from the stair side, so people can leave a smoky stair and cross the floor to another exit. The code calls it emergency crossover access. |
| Fail-safe lock | A lock that unlocks when it loses power, such as a maglock or a fail-safe electric strike. |
| Fail-secure lock | A lock that stays locked when it loses power. The door still opens from the side people exit through. |
| Fire alarm release | A signal from the building’s fire alarm that unlocks the doors it controls. |
| Manual station | The fire alarm pull station. |
What the code asks for on stair doors
| Rule | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Two storeys at most | Stair doors can’t be locked against re-entry where the nearest unlocked door, up or down, is more than two storeys away. |
| A way out from the floor | From a floor you can re-enter, you must be able to reach at least one other exit through unlocked doors. |
| Signs on the stair side | Doors you can open from the stair are signed to say so. Locked doors are signed to show the nearest unlocked door in each direction. The 2023 edition asks for visual and tactile signs. |
| Firefighter access | Locked doors open with a master key kept in a designated place firefighters can reach, or have a small wired glass panel near the hardware. |
| Maglocks on crossover doors | Allowed when they meet the maglock rules below, release at once when the pull station on the stair side, within 600 mm of the door, is pulled, and carry a “Re-entry door unlocked by fire alarm” sign. |
Summarised from the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition, Division B, Articles 3.4.6.16 and 3.4.6.18. Since the 2015 national edition these rules apply whatever the building’s height. Your project’s code edition, your consultant and the authority having jurisdiction decide what applies to your building. Not code advice.
Maglocks on exit doors
| Rule | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Fire alarm in the building | Maglocks are only allowed in a building with a fire alarm system. |
| Releases on alarm | The lock lets go when the fire alarm signal goes off. |
| Releases on power loss | Losing power to the lock or its controls unlocks the door. |
| Authorised switch | A switch that only authorised staff can reach releases the lock, and resets it afterwards. |
| Push and wait | Pushing the door hardware with no more than 90 N starts a release that can’t be stopped and opens the lock within 15 seconds. |
| 15 seconds in total | The total delay from every maglock along one way out can’t be more than 15 seconds. |
| Signs and lighting | Visual and tactile signs at the door explain the delay, and the door has emergency lighting. |
| Testing bypass | A bypass switch for fire alarm testing has to show at the fire alarm annunciator and the monitoring station. |
| Not on high-hazard doors | Maglocks aren’t allowed on doors leading directly from a high-hazard industrial occupancy. |
Care, treatment and detention buildings have their own maglock rules. Some fire departments add their own: the Calgary Fire Department’s fire marshal bulletin on electromagnetic locks, for example, doesn’t accept a push-to-exit button as the door-opening hardware. Alberta has also published a joint building and fire code interpretation on installing, maintaining, testing and verifying electromagnetic locks (STANDATA 23-FCI-010 / 23-BCI-043). Not code advice.
Ways to set up the stair doors
Most stair doors
- Free exit from the floor side, always
- Locked against re-entry from the stair side
- A card reader on the stair side for staff and tenants who need to move between floors
- Door contacts, so a door propped open shows up as an alarm
- Signs showing the nearest unlocked door each way
Crossover floors
- Spaced so no floor is more than two storeys from an unlocked door
- Left unlocked from the stair side, or fitted with fail-safe locks released by the fire alarm
- Maglocks with a pull station on the stair side within 600 mm and the “Re-entry door unlocked by fire alarm” sign
- An unlocked route across the floor to another exit
- A card reader if the door is locked outside an alarm
How the fire alarm release works
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Alarm | The fire alarm goes into alarm, or someone pulls the station beside a crossover door. |
| Signal | The fire alarm panel switches an output that the fire alarm contractor provides for the door releases. |
| Doors release | The output cuts power to the fail-safe locks it controls. The access control system logs the doors opening. |
| Reset | When the alarm is cleared, the locks are reset as the design calls for, by hand for maglocks. |
Who does what
| Role | Usual job |
|---|---|
| Engineer or code consultant | Decides which floors are crossover floors, the lock types and the fire alarm sequence. |
| Fire alarm contractor | Designs, installs and verifies the fire alarm, including the outputs for the door releases. |
| Door hardware supplier | Supplies the doors, closers, exit hardware and often the electrified locks. |
| Hightower | Installs the access control: card readers, maglocks or electric strikes, door contacts, lock power supplies and wiring, connected to the fire alarm output. |
| Authority having jurisdiction | Reviews and inspects the work, and has the final say. |
Testing and handover
We test every stair door with the fire alarm contractor during verification: each lock releases on the alarm, on power loss and from its pull station, and resets the way the design says. We label lock power supplies and the connection to the fire alarm output so the next technician can find them.
At handover you get a door schedule (which doors lock, which are crossover doors and what releases them), the wiring and programming notes, and full admin access to the access control system, as on every project.
Existing buildings
Older buildings often have stair doors that lock with no way back in, crossover doors that no longer release, or maglocks added later with no pull station or sign. We can review the stair doors with your consultant, put the access control side right and coordinate the fire alarm side with your fire alarm contractor.
If another company installed the system and won’t support it, our system rescue team can take it over. In BC, the BC Building Code and Vancouver’s Building By-law have their own versions of these rules, so check the code that applies to your project.
Planning stair doors on a project?
Send us the door schedule or drawings. We’ll price the access control side and coordinate with your fire alarm contractor.
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Stuck with a system nobody will fix?
We repair and take over cameras, access control, intercoms and alarms installed by other companies, when your current provider has fallen short.
Stairwell re-entry questions
What is a crossover floor?
A floor whose exit stair door can be opened from the stair side, so people can leave the stair and reach another exit across the floor. The Alberta Building Code calls it emergency crossover access.
How many floors can be locked from the stairwell?
Under Article 3.4.6.18 of the Alberta Building Code, no floor can be locked against re-entry where the nearest unlocked door, up or down, is more than two storeys away. Your consultant sets the exact layout. Not code advice.
Does this only apply to tall buildings?
No. Older editions applied it to buildings over six storeys, but since the 2015 national edition it applies whatever the building’s height. Check the edition that applies to your project.
Can we put maglocks on crossover doors?
Yes, if they meet the maglock rules: the building has a fire alarm, the lock releases on the alarm, on power loss and from a pull station on the stair side within 600 mm of the door, and the door has a “Re-entry door unlocked by fire alarm” sign.
Can stair doors have card readers?
Yes. A reader on the stair side lets staff and tenants move between floors while the door stays locked against re-entry for everyone else. People leaving from the floor side always get out freely.
What signs do stair doors need?
Doors you can open from the stair are signed to say so, locked doors show the nearest unlocked door in each direction, and maglocked crossover doors say “Re-entry door unlocked by fire alarm”. The 2023 edition asks for visual and tactile signs.
Who connects the locks to the fire alarm?
The fire alarm contractor provides and verifies the fire alarm output. We wire the locks and power supplies to it and test them together.
Do you install fire alarm systems?
Fire alarm systems are designed, installed and verified by fire alarm contractors. We do the access control side and work with them on the door releases.
Are push-to-exit buttons enough on a maglocked exit door?
Usually not as the main way out. The code expects the door hardware itself to start the release, and the Calgary Fire Department, for one, doesn’t accept a push-to-exit button as the door-opening hardware. Not code advice.
Can you fix stair doors in an existing building?
Yes. We review the stair doors with your consultant, fix the access control side and coordinate the fire alarm side with your fire alarm contractor.
Do we get admin access and documentation?
Yes. You get a door schedule, wiring and programming notes and full admin access on every project.
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Get a quote for stair doors
Send us the door schedule, drawings or a list of the stair doors, and tell us about the fire alarm. We’ll follow up to book a site walk or review.
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